Dark Masters
by Rizember
Summary: Being schooled to be assassins is dangerous and hectic and doesn't leave much time for romance. Unless you're into that kind of thing. NaruSasu, yaoi, humour. For Khairul
1. Master of emotion

**DemonHeart**

by Rizember

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For Khairul

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**Summary**: Why don't demons ever listen? Ask them to do one thing- take over the world- and they decide getting

laid is a higher priority. Humour, Romance. NaruSasu

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**Chapter One: A touch of growing pains**

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**A/N: Yeah, yeah...another fic... Before we get testy, please note the many updates that have been occurring lately and give in to the kindness in your hearts... **

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**Beta'ed by**: [UnBeta'ed]

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**Warnings: yaoi (google it), an impressive ****attempt ****at humour (my bread and butter), NaruSasu ultimately (I'm on a roll), Gaara/Kyuubi (shocker), Naruto/Shukaku, (never seen that before), No bestiality (I hope)... Enjoy.**

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**Disclaimer: yadee yaddaa...I own nadda...**

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Although normally known for its produce and selling of various suspiciously-procured items; the Konoha market place was also famous for the many police chases that ran right through it just like in the movies.

Unlike in the movies however, the policemen had no cars and had to ride horses, which happens to not be as exciting as one would think...especially when the criminals were running through the market and all the horses kept stopping at the apple stands, apparently forgetting what they were supposed to be doing in the hopes of getting some fresh fruit.

The three boys stared down at the scene below them, sitting on the roof's edge, eating a couple of apples they'd grabbed as they ran through the market.

The blond stretched languidly and leaned back to lie down. "That was tiring."

"You're an idiot."

Opening one eye to peer at the pale raven, he smirked. "You're the one who followed an idiot. What does that say about you...?"

"It says it was my job to make sure you didn't do anything half-assed."

"Whatever, princess. Get over yourself. You were sent as my _backup_."

The third boy bit into his red apple, not bothering to join in the conversation.

"You know," the brunet said irritably. "They aren't going to be pleased."

The blond laughed softly, "Whoa..._they_? Don't give us that... We all know only _one _of them will mind."

They stared at the opposite building and right on cue, they noticed three figures running across it, moving toward them at full speed and seeming to go faster as they neared the edge.

The building wasn't that far away but it was still an impressive jump.

The boys stood to make room as the figures landed, dropping bags and apples as they rolled.

When they stood, the boys watched them.

Three animals looked back at the boys and bowed slightly before stretching. A red-gold fox, a pale brown raccoon and a dark green cobra.

"I agree with the princess. Naruto, you're an idiot," the fox stated without preamble.

The blond, Naruto, simply raised a finger and lazily let the animal know what he thought of its opinion in the matter while the brunet glared at the fox, not amused by the 'princess' comment.

"You guys say that every time," the raccoon sighed impatiently.

"Did I not already explain the utter stupidity of this plan?"

The boys edged away as the snake glared openly at them.

The blond smiled uneasily at it. "Well...the plan worked, so..."

The snake hissed in warning and turned away.

They were the only three animals of their kind and it seemed like such a waste to use them for something as basic as theft.

Uzumaki Naruto, Subaku Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke were the only three people in the world with unique demons...animals no one else had.

Their world, Konoha, was one where each person had a soul and each soul had a body of its own, taking on animal forms.

The person's soul represented who they were and what they were about but even though a soul was a representation of its master, souls possessed their own unique personalities.

Souls were also called demons...purely for the fact that even though they made people's lives somewhat easier, they were a double-edged sword. If a demon died...its master died with it. In fact, in ancient times, people went

around hunting animals for sport, just to see who'd end up dead. Needless to say, the charm of that was lost when your own hunting partner killed the moose that just happened to be your demon.

The fox, the raccoon and the snake were elites.

Even in a world as chaotic as Konoha, there was still some semblance of heirachy. As is the case in any world, there were classes of people...and this spilled over to their demons.

Most people kept their demons close, never letting them move a few feet farther than necessary.

Though the classes of people were the same as in other worlds (that is: the poor, middle class, upper class, royalty and finally, celebrities. In that order), the demons only had two classes, elites and commoners.

The elites were demons with the ability to take on human forms. Usually, these were all recruited, along with their humans, into the upper classes of human society. It was thought that humans with elites were higher, more evolved, than normal people.

There existed in Konoha, an ancient academy dedicated to training humans and their elites...which was where the boys were supposed to be.

Konoha Academy, a college for the elites, bred young, powerful minds and moulded them into brainless mush that followed the rules of the Anbu...the world army.

Even though they were held in awe by other students, they didn't really care.

The three demons, even in their animal forms, were larger than their masters and over the years, had developed the nasty habit of using their size as reason to order their masters around.

"Let's head back to the Academy," Manda, the cobra, hissed gruffly when no one seemed interested in moving.

"Wait," Naruto mumbled, grabbing the bags on the ground that were filled with food and leaping down the side of the building. Seconds later, he returned with a wide grin and a mark on his cheek.

The others all stared at him accusingly.

He blinked, trying to look innocent. "What?"

"The girl kissed you again, didn't she?" Sasuke stated.

Naruto rubbed his cheek guiltily. "What? She was just happy she doesn't have to starve..."

"She's not even in the family you took the food to," Manda said dryly.

"You don't know that!"

"Yes actually, we do. She doesn't live around here..." The fox grinned. "And, she looks pretty well off."

The blonde growled at his demon. "Shut it, Kyuubi."

Kyuubi rolled his eyes, ignoring Naruto as he'd done all their life. "You know she's a whore right?"

"I said shut up."

"I saw her on a street corner just the other day."

"_Shut up_."

"She was wearing a piece of string as a skirt and-"

Naruto screamed in frustration, lunging at Kyuubi.

As the two rolled on the ground, the raccoon looked up, sighing when he noticed two of their partners in crime were gone. "Where are Sasuke and Manda?"

Gaara shrugged, reaching down and easily pulling Naruto off Kyuubi, the fox sticking his tongue out at the blond who then started struggling in Gaara's hold, trying to get to his arrogant demon.

"They lost interest in this foolishness and went back to school."

Naruto stopped struggling. "They left? Again?"

Apparently this was a normal occurrence.

Gaara let go and he fell to the ground.

"That hurt, asswipe!"

That was normal, too.

"Those bastards!" Kyuubi growled, standing up.

Shukaku swished his striped tail and yawned. "It's not safe to be here in our condition. We have to head back."

The blonde blushed uncomfortably when he thought of their 'condition'.

The boys were roughly the same age with Naruto being the youngest at seventeen while both Gaara and Sasuke were already eighteen, just a few months older than the blonde.

For them, puberty had already hit and their

hormones were, more or less, predictable.

For their demons however, it was just beginning, and possessing elites proved to be particularly stressful.

The demons had mood swings (mostly Manda), hot flushes (mostly Shukaku) and horny moments (mostly Kyuubi).

When these things happened, their humans literally felt the same things; Sasuke got crabbier, Gaara's face matched his hair and Naruto had the sudden need to take a cold shower.

It was all the more troublesome by the fact that they'd feel these things at any time...midnight while in bed, on a carnival ride, in class as you give a presentation...

The only comfort was that the other students were going through the same things...just not as strongly (or violently) as them.

The first time it happened, Naruto had been sitting at his desk not disrupting the class and suddenly, he looked down and spotted the king, queen and jester, of all boners, standing smugly at full mast.

He'd left Kyuubi sleeping that morning and even though he wasn't even thinking boner-inducing thoughts, he'd somehow gotten that one.

Why was it that his demon was the one with the drastically heightened libido? Why couldn't it be Sasuke? Hell, Manda suffering with a burning sexual need would be hilarious...he'd probably hide away as his pride died a slow, painful death.

Naruto planted his head on his desk, whispering to his body about the many ways it would be rewarded if it made his erection go away.

This so wasn't what he needed.

Luckily for him, that was the one day he didn't get called on to solve a problem on the board.

He was just glad the class had lasted three hours, allowing his body to calm the hell down.

The blond had ran all the way to his room to murder the demon when he'd found Kyuubi moaning and rolling on his bed, in his human form.

Red-gold hair had been mussed and sweaty and Kyuubi, Naruto had realised, was still having his aphrodisiac bout.

He'd called the nurse immediately cause really, how else was he going to help? People didn't have sex with demons...especially their own. That was just...wrong.

After that however, it started to get worse. When Kyuubi got horny, Naruto didn't just get a boner, he also got the fully fledged desire to bang someone or something (something that was preferably someone)...

Which was how things got complicated...

**(I am an old Flashback pagebreak. I remember when...)**

Naruto swore when his breathing hitched. He could feel every bit of Kyuubi's need as his breathing got shallow.

Biting his lip, he tried to will it away.

No deal.

This one was special. He could feel it. A little mind control was not going to make it disappear.

He was in study hall and knew that in just a few seconds, his body would be begging for some action. Hurriedly

getting up, he got a pass to the bathroom and bolted out of the hall. He ran past all the bathrooms, dodging a

group of first years as he ran through the halls, hurrying to the room he shared with Sasuke and Gaara and their demons. He'd never been so glad to find his room empty. The blonde dashed into their bathroom and locked the door behind him.

In the shower, he shivered and noted with a frown that his erection had now gone above and beyond the call of duty and was now immune to the dulling effects of ice cold water.

As the water warmed up, he sat in the tub, waiting patiently for Kyuubi's stupid feelings to go away.

Knowing that wherever his demon was, he would receive the message, the blonde grimaced. 'Kyuubi, I'm gonna kill you.'

Looking down, he saw that yes indeed it was going down and-

Nope, false alarm, still up.

He swore colorfully and for a moment thought the bathroom tiles were tinged pink but he must have imagined that.

He looked down at himself, momentarily considering using his hand to take care of the problem but then he scowled and turned away.

He would not be weak.

He decided to wait it out, considering taking sleeping pills to help pass the time.

_Finally_, after sitting in the tub for almost three hours, it slowly made its descent.

Naruto dried himself off and dressed leisurely, knowing there would be no point in rushing to his next class.

He didn't notice the dark marks that formed on his wrist as he walked out, shutting the door behind him.

**(I am a peppy page break. I cheer the queer!)**

It became a routine after that, that every time Kyuubi went into heat, Naruto would have a soak in the tub.

He could almost feel his manliness washing off with the flowery soap the school provided and sank into a semi-depression thinking it was just a matter of time before he started doing his nails and listening to Celine Dion.

There was a time he'd stayed in bed, staunchly refusing to move and hoping he died a desire-induced death and took Kyuubi with him.

Manda had had to call the nurse while Sasuke laughed tauntingly at his friend's "witu pwobwem" as the nurse, Shizune, called it.

Shizune had prescribed a "solitary convergence relief session"...which meant that she'd basically ordered Naruto to have a good wank.

She had explained to them that the demon puberty period happened to be six months long and that eventually it would go away.

Naruto was livid. Half a year spent doing his hand? No thankyou.

"You may euthanize me now."

Shizune had patted his head and walked away, leaving behind some magazines that she was sure would help him.

Naruto and Gaara had spent that night staring at the magazine in wonder, amazed at all the bits and pieces females seemed to have in hidden places. They'd skipped on the optional Sex Ed class and Kakashi had been their Biology teacher in first year.

On reproduction, their tutor, Kotetsu Hagane said "Life is an adventure. A man is Indiana Jones and a woman is the cave. You must **explore**! But beware men, sometimes out of the cave comes a little unwanted artifact…"

He went on to give each of the guys an Indiana Jones hat and had given the girls dusty capes.

That was as far as their lesson on reproduction had gone.

Students weren't supposed to have sex on campus (or anywhere else really) and the academy had sex sensors so it was wise to do it... somewhere _else, _lest you get caught with all the sirens, bright spotlights and automatic voice saying loudly, "**Please pull yourself out of that girl. I repeat, pull yourself out of that girl…" **for thirty minutes, after which, if you weren't already caught and were determined to get laid, it would begin to say, "**All foreign, cucumber-like objects will be shot at and chopped. I repeat, all foreign…"**

During their stay, only one student had ever activated the alarm…and he'd been banging the Sex Ed dummy, Irene.

It was a sad, sad sight as he'd somehow failed to get out of the doll and well, no one was quite willing to help him out, instead deciding to take pictures and letting the Newsletter club interview him.

Anyway, with the information Shizune graciously provided, Naruto figured he couldn't just go out and bang whoever he liked.

"You'll have to do this yourself... In your need to sate yourself, you could really hurt any lover you decide to use to help you take care of this."

Great. The world of celibacy had just opened its doors to him...

When he had gotten back, Kyuubi enjoyed hearing all about his master's 'issues' especially cause they were all his fault.

Whenever the blonde asked where he'd been or what he did to get rid of his 'problems', Kyuubi always smirked and said he 'took care of it'. Naruto figured that meant the demon was pleasuring himself as well, wanking away to his heart's content.

And that had been fine... As long as he could take care of his problem for the next six months...180 days...4320 hours... he'd be fine.

But no, fate is a cruel mistress and after a few weeks, something else happened.

Naruto had already decided that he must have bitch-slapped karma in a past life cause-

"Argh!"

-he'd been in the bathroom for bloody _hours _and he still couldn't-

"Dammit!"

He heard the door to their room open and slam shut.

Hmm...slamming of doors...must be Sasuke. Gaara was too calm and murderous to slam doors.

"Naruto?"

Didn't Sasuke hear the water running? Didn't he know he was busy?

Sasuke smirked. "Choking the chicken again?"

"Sod off!"

"Naruto?"

Naruto sounded pissed and...did he just punch the wall?

"OW!"

Sasuke took that as a yes.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Shit!"

Sasuke tried the door and surprisingly found it open.

"Dammit Sasuke! Knock first!"

Sasuke smirked, surprised at Naruto's annoyance. The blonde wasn't modest at all. In fact, before the whole 'weird, unending boner' thing, the blonde had been happy to walk around half naked (and sometimes, naked) moving through the apartment with his abs and his tan and his bright blonde hair and his loudness and-

Naruto wrapped a towel around his waist, glaring at Sasuke while he leaned against the shower wall, getting the towel wet. "Did you want something?"

"What were you doing?" Sasuke asked, his voice oozing innocent curiosity.

Naruto just growled, but not at Sasuke to the brunette's surprise.

"It won't go away!"

Sasuke had never seen Naruto look so angry...or so defeated.

"What are you talking about?"

Naruto snorted at Sasuke's obviously stupid question, yanking his towel off.

Sasuke stared...and stared...and thought hell, might as well stare some more. Naruto was...

"Yes, well... was the towel's removal really necessary?"

Naruto just groaned. "I've been in here all morning! I'm gonna murder Kyuubi but before I can do that, I need this to go away!"

Sasuke stared, not wanting to point out that it wasn't morning anymore. "What do you mean you've been in here

since six...?"

"Don't be an idiot. It always goes away! Three hours max! But now..."

"Have you..."

Naruto glared at Sasuke. "I am _not_ wanking."

"Uh huh..."

Naruto slumped against the wall, growling in frustration.

"I could help you..."

For a second there, Sasuke thought the blond hadn't heard him.

Then he looked up.

Blue eyes looked back at him in doubt.

"Do you know what you're saying?"

Sasuke nodded. "Unlike some people, I do think before I speak."

Naruto was quiet for another few seconds before he walked toward Sasuke with slow deliberation.

Naruto was in his face, breathing his air and Sasuke had the greatest urge to punch him in the nuts and see if that helped.

Sasuke frowned as he noticed that Naruto was almost touching him.

"And why," Naruto asked calmly. "Would a bastard like you want to help me?"

Sasuke's eyes flashed in righteous anger. "Because I'm obligated to."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and they glared at each other.

"I don't want your help."

"Tough."

Before Naruto could protest, Sasuke grabbed his arm and threw him against the wall, placing his hands to either side of him.

Naruto's eyes blazed, turning red as he stared into Sasuke's which had already turned red.

Sasuke brought one hand back to Naruto's arm, letting it slide down till it reached the blond's wrist, smirking when he felt Naruto shiver.

"I hate you," Naruto spat angrily.

"Hn."

Sasuke closed his eyes and concentrated.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and saw nothing.

He was alone. Everything was dark.

He waited.

Suddenly, he spotted small bursts of light come up and he walked toward them.

Looking like little camp fires, each colour blazed brightly as he approached it in his mind's eye.

Blue, purple… orange.

He'd seen those countless times.

They were Naruto's emotions and the fact that he had the ability to see them was the reason Naruto hated Sasuke.

It was also the reason Sasuke hated _him_.

They were stuck together because of that… Because Sasuke could control Naruto's emotions and in that, control Naruto.

It was no wonder the blond hated him.

But it wasn't like Sasuke wanted this. He hated having to live with Naruto just to make sure that the idiot didn't go on some sort of rampage…

He hated not being able to live his own life because he had to babysit said idiot.

But most of all, he just hated Naruto because it came naturally to him- like glaring.

Sasuke looked around the darkness before he noticed the last fire.

Red flames.

_Desire._

He moved toward it and placed his hand over the flames.

The sprung up, licking at his hand and he gasped.

His whole body was on fire and somewhere along the line, he was vaguely aware that he was pressing his body against Naruto's.

The flames moved through him, flowing smoothly while he strained to control them.

He took in a deep breath and calmed down, letting the flames burn out.

He waited a moment before he opened his eyes and found himself staring into deep blue.

"Sasuke?"

Naruto's voice was unsure and he looked almost worried.

The brunet noticed that he had indeed pressed himself against Naruto and he pulled away hurriedly.

"I took care of it."

Naruto nodded, still staring at Sasuke in disbelief.

He was used to Sasuke invading his mind and messing with his feelings. He was used to the touchy bastard taking away his anger and leaving everything else intact.

But this was the first time Sasuke had ever taken away an emotion that wasn't pure fury.

He knew Sasuke's powers made him act like some sort of sponge, picking up people's emotions and turning them into nothing. It was what made him a Tracer…someone who could manipulate people's emotions.

It was why they'd been assigned to the same team.

He'd never been aware of the sponge-like qualities of Sasuke until the brunet had pressed against him when he'd apparently gotten to Naruto's desire.

He'd had an erection.

Naruto hadn't moved for fear of what would happen if he did.

He'd waited for Sasuke to snap out of it before speaking.

Usually, the brunet only needed to touch Naruto for a second before he could take his anger away but with his desire… Sasuke had stood there for almost a full minute.

Naruto looked away from Sasuke thoughtfully.

Tracing usually took a toll on Sasuke and left him irritable and tired when he used it for just a second. What would happen now that he'd traced for nearly a full-

"Idiot."

Naruto watched as Sasuke insulted him and then fell to the floor in a heap.

Ah…so that was what would happen.

After making basic checks to ensure his team mate was alive, Naruto proceeded to pick the other boy up and carry him to the room.

He placed Sasuke on the brunet's bed before pulling on some clothes and lying on his own bed.

Naruto faced the ceiling, ignoring the hissing he heard on their balcony.

"I'm not Voldemort. I don't speak snake."

Manda slithered in, changing partly. While the lower part of his body remained scaly and his tail's sharp tip was raised threateningly at Naruto, Manda's upper body changed considerably. Dark green spiky hair flowed from his

head and his green eyes watched his master sleeping on the bed across the blond's.

"I was wondering where Sasuke was."

"And now you know,"

Manda sighed, "I really don't know why I bother with you."

"Cause if you kill me, you lose Kyuubi's wonderful company?"

Manda snorted, paused and said gruffly, "Take care of him."

Even though it was said with quiet calm, Naruto chuckled at the snake's overprotectiveness. When Manda left the room, Naruto sighed in grudging appreciation for Sasuke.

The next morning saw them acting normal and perfectly civil, like nothing happened...and for awhile, Naruto's problem, even with Kyuubi's 'state', didn't happen again.

**(I am the end of flashback pagebreak. Later)**

That had been four weeks ago.

Naruto watched Gaara and his raccoon race back to the academy. They rarely had their demons in human forms when they were out of the school.

He and Kyuubi were more than happy to just walk leisurely.

The blonde missed the shadow atop the next building as he jumped down, watching him and his fox as they walked back to the Academy.

**(I am a ninja page break. I'm on your ceiling)**

"May I ask where you've been for the past two hours?"

The three boys stared back blankly at their tutor, standing their ground.

Kakashi Hatake was one of the craziest men at the Academy (he placed second on the "Crazy Polls". First was

the Dean, Jiraiya and third and forth were taken by Kotetsu Hagane and Gai Maito).

Kakashi wore a mask that covered most of his face, except for one eye. He had spiky silver hair that defied gravity

and dressed like one of the students, usually in the hopes of blending in and not being spotted by Iruka, another

tutor who was always kicking his ass because of some perverted thing he'd done, said or thought.

"Tell me where you were."

The whole class could hear the amusement in his voice and knew he was just using them to pass the time. Kakashi had been known to interrogate students for hours and make sure to ignore

whatever answer they gave.

"You know, I hear those cloaked hooligans were at the market place earlier today..."

"Really?" Gaara asked dryly, not even bothering to feign interest.

"Yeah!" Kakashi said with enthusiasm. "They distracted the police demons and-"

Gaara stifled a yawn, zoning out as Kakashi continued to talk.

Their demons were in their room and the only demons in the class were a wolf and two dogs.

Kakashi's soul was a shiny, black rotweiler called Fang. The other dog in the room was Akamaru. He belonged to

Kiba Inuzuka, a troublemaker and good friend of Naruto's.

The wolf, Duran, was owned by Hinata Hyuuga, the crown princess of Byakugan. Duran also acted as her

self-appointed bodyguard, often growling at Kiba when she caught him looking at her human.

Looking out the window, the class could see a line of horses patrolling the area. Every person whose demon was

a horse was forced to join the police force. It was a sad fate.

The class had only ten students. In their first year, they'd all been taught to distance themselves from their

demons and not live in fear of them being away. Kiba had no problem with letting his demon out of sight but

seeing as how it never really did leave his sight, he wasn't troubled either way.

Seeing Kakashi distractedly staring out the window, the boys backed away, moving stealthily to their seats.

Sasuke sat with Gaara while Naruto shared his seat with Hinata. Kiba and Ino, a blonde who could have been Naruto's twin for all her loud outbursts, sat together while the others; Sakura, a pink haired, green eyed girl was with Shikamaru, the lethargic (lazy-assed) genius and

Tenten, the class tomboy, was paired off with Lee, the green-obsessed poster child for the effects of drinking

coffee while breastfeeding.

Hinata smirked when Naruto took his seat by her. "Playing Robin Hood again?"

Naruto chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "Ladies dig the tights."

Hinata snorted in a very un-princessly way and ignored the disapproving glance Duran gave her.

"Shouldn't you guys worry about getting caught?"

"We're too busy worrying about important things...like lunch."

Kakashi finally tore his gaze from the window and stood abruptly. "Potty break. Be right back."

An hour later, Kakashi walked in and stood in front of the board with a stick of chalk in hand and a determined

look in his eye.

"Well kids, let's begin. Today's lesson is-"

The bell rang and they all dashed out.

Kakashi sighed. "Oh well, I tried."

Passing by a couple of their seniors; Neji, Temari and Kankurou, Naruto and Gaara smirked as Neji failed to

continue his conversation as he watched the three. Sasuke was oblivious to the long haired brunette's scathing

gaze, still saying something to his friends about Manda attacking a horse.

Gaara nodded at them as they passed, glaring at Temari when she cooed at him.

Temari and Kankurou were Gaara's older siblings. The three of them were the royal offspring of Sunagakure

kingdom.

Naruto often wondered how the hell he had found himself surrounded by royalty. Even Sasuke was a royal and as his

brother was currently ruling the Sharingan kingdom since their father had fallen ill, he was technically next in line

for the throne.

Reaching their room, Naruto threw the door open, "Honey! I'm home!"

Two pillows, and a shoe, were thrown at his head.

"Manda! What the hell!"

The snake ignored him and went back to sleep.

It was then that Naruto saw that the other two demons were asleep as well.

"I knew Shikamaru was contagious..." Gaara muttered, tossing his backpack to the floor.

Naruto sighed and walked in past Sasuke and out onto the balcony.

Hearing hoofs padding on grass, he looked down.

Eight horses were on the ground below. As Naruto glared down at them, a bow appeared in his hand. He raised it

and eight arrows formed.

"Naruto?"

The blonde ignored his roommate, taking aim...knowing that if he let go of the arrows, the demons and their humans

would die.

Sasuke placed a steady hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Stop it..."

Naruto sighed and lowered his hands, the weapons disappearing as abruptly as they'd appeared, along with his anger.

He brushed past Sasuke and crawled into his bed that was just by Kyuubi's.

"You alright?"

Naruto turned away from Kyuubi, facing the wall.

Out on the balcony, Sasuke watched the officers riding their horses. Killing them would be easy but if Naruto

started, he'd never be able to stop and a massacre was the last thing they needed.

Sasuke went back into the room and sat on his bed, thinking.

Kyuubi sighed and settled back into his bed. He'd felt Naruto's sudden murderous intent.

Sasuke let Naruto's rage wash over him before it dissolved into nothing.

He hated his team and the plans made for them.

They each had their roles to play.

Naruto was to be used as a weapon in the Anbu army once he graduated from the Academy and became a cold-blooded assassin with a license to kill that was both stamped and laminated.

Sasuke's mission was to make sure Naruto didn't kill anyone before then…and Gaara…

Gaara's mission was to kill them both if Sasuke ever failed.

**(I am a super page break. I can see your undies)**

The news was spreading.

Some of the castle guards had been found murdered in the town square and their

horses were roaming the street, looking lost.

It was to be the first of many cases. Someone had found a way to sever the bond between a demon and their

human...and they were killing the people off, living their souls behind.

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**If you want me to continue with this fic...please lemme know.**

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	2. Dark Emotion

**Dark Masters**

by Rizember

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**Beta'ed by: [UnBeta'ed]**

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**Chapter 2: Dark Emotions**

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**Disclaimer: Own nothing.**

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**A/N: This fic is For Khairul.**

**This chapter is for mu149, who unknowingly guilted me into writing up the complete plot for this fic (so about nine chapters, I believe) and typing up this first bit. Enjoy.**

**Sorry for the delay.**

**Xxx-xxX**

Naruto was apparently far from the idiot Sasuke thought him to be.

The brunet almost gaped as he watched Naruto absently take the A for their math test and continue staring out the window like it wasn't a big deal. Sasuke briefly wondered if that A was for 'Attendance' or if it was really a result of work correctly done.

Beside Naruto, Hinata was staring at the blond with a look everyone but Naruto could see and Sasuke rolled his eyes. The fool was even more out of it than usual.

He'd been like that lately, the closest thing to a walking vegetable.

Naruto had been disappearing frequently and if Sasuke didn't know better, he'd say Naruto was avoiding him- except that that wouldn't exactly be true.

Naruto showed up next to him all the time when he was in heat and Sasuke would take his hand and take the desire away. It was an unspoken agreement and Sasuke was loathe to admit that it was the closest they had gotten to being civil because it was the only time they didn't fight, insult or make impressive attempts at murder.

The second time it happened, after the first time (referred to as the Bathroom Incident and never _ever_ to be spoken of. Ever.), Sasuke had been in bed reading.

Manda, Gaara and Shukaku were training on the grounds and Naruto had gone missing after their last class. Sasuke almost missed their frequent fights and pranks but it just felt weird to fight with Naruto when he knew that the blond wasn't really into it- he'd tried.

Naruto seemed to be grateful to him for taking away Kyuubi's transferred libido when it had appeared but he didn't seem to know how to act on it. He couldn't thank Sasuke because hell wasn't freezing over any time soon and he couldn't fight Sasuke cause that would make him seem like an ungrateful prat. There was also the fact that Naruto was trying hard to deal with something other than constant anger and desire…something that came as a tidal wave of shock when he'd noticed it.

He didn't hate Sasuke, not really anyway.

Naruto's anger had always been related to the Uchiha. For as long as he could remember, when he'd been angry, Sasuke had been there- usually as both the cause and the solution- and it killed him to know that what lingered when the anger was gone wasn't the usual hatred for Sasuke, but something else. His emotions had been so close together, so intertwined with his fury that he hadn't ever given much thought to them.

Except for the day when Sasuke had taken both his desire and his anger.

Having two of his most acknowledged emotions just Traced away like that, Naruto had waited to fill the usual hate for Sasuke, the usual cloudy thoughts that convinced him that Sasuke's presence was a means to an end he had no desire to be a part of. Naruto knew he was a weapon and that as a weapon; Sasuke was simply the tool that made it possible to use him. He'd always thought that Sasuke was happy with the arrangement, pleased to have something over Naruto and loving the very knowledge that he could pull at the strings of Naruto's emotions and single-handedly break his mind… He'd thought Sasuke enjoyed being able to toy with him, enjoyed the task of keeping the monster in check…

Naruto thought he knew Sasuke.

But apparently, Sasuke wasn't the sadistic bastard Naruto thought him to be.

That day, in the bathroom as Sasuke pressed against him, Naruto had been touched by an overwhelming emptiness and he had known that that was how Sasuke felt.

He'd actually gone to the library after that and read up on Tracers, looking for opinions that were subjective as opposed to the technical gibberish he'd found. When that hadn't helped, he'd simply stolen Sasuke's journal.

That had been enlightening…and scary- especially when Manda caught him. The snake, being a _snake_, was not above blackmail and decided to keep the information of Naruto's disregard for Sasuke's private property until he felt the need to use it.

But Naruto had found out some very important things.

Sasuke hated being a Tracer, hated being a _freak_. And he hated Naruto because he had to stay and protect him from his own emotions.

Tracers who used their powers frequently eventually got to a point where it became normal to dissolve emotions or create and control them on a whim- however, this left them constantly destroying their own and by the time they reached the climax of their powers, they were cold-hearted and logical, the perfect assassins. And Sasuke was actually afraid of that. With good reason too, Naruto reasoned, because the bastard was _already_ a cold hearted prick even with his powers mid-level; surely going beyond absolute zero was unachievable…

Naruto wondered if he was the only one being used as a future Anbu tool. When he thought about it, Sasuke despised him for the very reasons that he hated _him_. They had been thrown together and forced to work toward a life they hadn't chosen.

And when it came down to it, Naruto didn't really hate Sasuke, he simply despised their situation and maybe he hated Sasuke's powers just a bit.

Maybe if they'd been normal people instead of elites, maybe then they would have been normal friends…

Discovering that he didn't loathe Sasuke had taken quite a toll on Naruto as he was left wondering what it was he _did_ feel for the boy. Sasuke was an arrogant, narcissistic know-it-all pretty boy and aside from the fact that he'd suddenly helped Naruto out without any orders from superiors, the blond was sure he was still the same asshole he'd always been. Maybe the empty garden of his heart had somehow grown a conscience. Well, if that was the case, Naruto was pretty sure the garden would go untended. Great, now he was using horticultural metaphors.

Sasuke had always been sadistic…until he'd decided to help Naruto through Kyuubi's stint with puberty. The second time had been somewhat less tense than the first.

Sasuke had been sitting in bed when Naruto had climbed in through the window, looking disheveled and dirty. After a few seconds of eyeing each other as if wondering whether they should pretend they hadn't seen each other, Sasuke sighed.

"Where were you?" he asked calmly, hoping the fool hadn't gone out and raped someone if he was on heat.

"Out," Naruto answered irritably.

"Doing who?"

Blue eyes locked on black with sharp intensity and Sasuke held back the urge to chuckle at the indignation he saw there.

Naruto looked exhausted as he stepped in and walked toward the bathroom. He was limping and Sasuke felt familiar irritation at Naruto's disregard for his own health.

"Who did you get in a fight with?" he asked gruffly, getting out of bed and walking toward Naruto.

The blond simply watched him warily, not moving away as Sasuke took up his arm and did the usual emotion check on him.

To say Sasuke was shocked would have been a grave understatement.

Naruto's desire was a raging bush fire in the Tracer's eyes and he couldn't see any anger there…but there was another thing there, burning low but growing, flames a dull gray. The colour of defeat.

Sasuke's eyes focused on Naruto's and he could now clearly see the way the blond seemed to have submitted to everything.

Sasuke sighed and tugged on Naruto's wrist. "Come on."

That Naruto followed him to his bed without question was further proof of Naruto's depression.

"What happened?"

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing."

"Is it that girl? Shion what's-her-face?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't."

Naruto sat down beside Sasuke on the brunet's bed, watching him. "What do you want then?"

Sasuke dismissed that and went about removing the defeat before taking care of the desire.

"Why are you helping me?" Naruto asked with barely masked surprise when Sasuke let go of his hand. He felt much better now and barely thought about how he'd found the girl he'd gone to profess his love to happily impaling herself on some other guy's cock. He'd left quietly, ignoring her cries of pleasure and instructions such as 'harder', 'faster' and 'put the kettle on'… Okay, maybe the last one was from some other house but they still all merged in his mind. He'd gone to the farthest training fields and nearly trained himself into oblivion, continuing to maneuver past invisible attackers and shooting arrows at posts until he'd felt Kyuubi go into heat again.

And even then, he'd continued to train. He was hopeful that somehow, his case of blue-balls would lead to a coronary explosion and he could die a dramatic and gruesome death.

But then, he figured Shion would have the pleasure of being the innocent civilian who cried at his funeral.

Gosh, he hated her. And it hurt.

Now that he thought about it, he couldn't believe he'd actually been bothering to try _courting_ her. Kyuubi had been right, she really _was_ a whore.

Shaking his head at the miracle that was Kyuubi being right, Naruto faced Sasuke and said the dreaded words, "So, how was your day?"

Sasuke snorted and leaned back against his pillows, not answering.

Naruto nodded to himself. Stupid of him, really, to try actually _talking_ with Sasuke…

They had never gotten along and chances were, they never would.

He was about to leave when a hand shot out and grabbed his.

"My day was full of idiots who need me to babysit them. And I got detention for punching Hyuuga."

"You punched _Hinata_?"

Sasuke scowled at him. "I punched _Neji_, you moron."

It took Sasuke a while to realize Naruto was holding back laughter and he rolled his eyes.

Naruto sighed and went about explaining how he'd walked in on Shion pleasuring herself with some other guy. "I had no idea there were dicks that ugly."

Sasuke chuckled, not sure if Naruto was making stuff up and trying to make himself feel better or if the guy's prick actually _was_ the size of a small, deformed gherkin.

The words came easier after that and in a weird way, it was like they were actually friends.

It felt good.

They started to hang out without feeling the usual pressures of duty but they didn't fight. Their souls seemed pleased and Gaara was glad the two idiots had finally seen the light. Whenever Naruto had a sexual craving, Sasuke took it away and they'd end up talking throughout the night, sometimes even forcibly dragging Gaara into the conversation even though all he did was grunt and pass insulting commentary. But it was okay, they didn't mind.

So it was strange that Naruto was going reclusive again and hadn't been to him for their almost daily Kyuubi-is-a-stupid-wanker-so-take-this-away' sessions for almost a week.

Sasuke watched Hinata place her hand on Naruto's and whisper something in his ear. The blond actually blushed before clearing his throat, muttering something in return and turning back to face the window.

Had Hinata just confessed her feelings?

Sasuke smirked.

As much as he couldn't stand the girl's obnoxious cousin, he actually liked Hinata. She was smart, sarcastic and one of the few girls who seemed immune to his charm and devilish good looks.

Neji however, was a prick.

He'd once propositioned Sasuke and the Uchiha had simply ignored him. He supposed that was probably where all the animosity was from- unrequited shags.

The bell rang and Sasuke got up, determined to corner the blond and demand answers. He walked out with Gaara and found Hinata at the door with Kiba and Naruto, apparently waiting for them.

"Hey Sasuke," Hinata greeted.

Sasuke nodded at her and Kiba snorted. "Can't speak Uchiha?"

"Play nice," Naruto instructed, as if talking to toddlers before he faced Sasuke. "We're going to catch a movie this afternoon. You're coming, too."

"I'm sorry," Sasuke smirked. "Did you just _order_ me out on a date?"

"Yes," Naruto answered easily, smiling easily. "And we can all have an orgy afterwards."

"No crossing swords," Gaara said, shrugging. "And Kiba, you can't kiss me."

Kiba sputtered indignantly. "The hell-"

"I've seen the way you look at me," Gaara stated simply before walking away with Kiba following and yelling about his straightness.

Hinata chuckled and looked back and forth between Sasuke and Naruto. "Erm, should I invite more girls? Orgies can't be fun with just me."

Naruto laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Nah, it's cool. All we'll have to do is drop our pants and watch Kiba run for the hills."

"So…you're coming Sasuke?" Hinata asked.

"I'm not sure whether to innocently consider that question or read into the innuendo…"

Hinata rolled her eyes. "Will you be present for the movie and dinner after?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Well, I was going to stare lovingly at myself for a few hours but I suppose I could let you guys have that honour."

Naruto muttered something about narcissistic bastards and Hinata grinned at Sasuke. "You've really changed."

He blinked. "What?"

She shook her head. "It's an improvement. You're…more fun. I'll see you guys later."

As Hinata walked away, Sasuke stood with Naruto, watching her go.

"Did she just accuse me of _fun_?"

"Did her ass always look like that?"

"Are you staring at her ass?"

"Aren't _you_?"

Sasuke smacked Naruto upside his head and they followed Gaara and Kiba.

"So, why've you been avoiding me?" Sasuke asked without preamble.

Naruto snorted. "It's not all about _you_, princess. Besides, I haven't been avoiding you; I've just been sneaking out for dates."

"With Hinata?"

Naruto nodded.

"And are her shagging skills so horrible that you walk around like a zombie after?"

Naruto choked. "Hey! Okay first, I haven't shagged her-"

"Yet."

"-and second, I have not been walking around like a zombie."

Sasuke seemed thoughtful. "I was sure I'd taken away all your Shion-obsessed emotions. Are you rebounding using Hinata?"

"No."

"Are you having sex elsewhere?"

"What? No!"

"Wanking?"

"Fuck off."

Sasuke regarded Naruto for a moment before smirking slowly. "You've never…"

"What?" Naruto asked irritably.

"Had sex."

The blond menace, who was quite comfortable walking around declaring his sexy awesomeness and flashing girls, had never had sex before. Well, either that or he was blushing profusely simply because Sasuke was daring to doubt his mad skills.

"How is that any of your business?"

"How are you still a virgin?"

Naruto ignored Sasuke and smiled at Neji in passing who smiled back before shooting a glare at Sasuke.

"Neji still hates you?" Naruto asked.

"Neji still hates me."

They got to their room and dropped their bags when the door was thrown open.

Shukaku came in and jumped onto Naruto's bed, yawning.

"Principal wants you three."

Naruto sighed and left Kyuubi tackling Shukaku. Gaara and Sasuke followed.

They found Principal Tsunade pacing in her office.

The tall blond had sharp brown eyes and looked twenty years younger than her alleged 50 years of age. Naruto was pretty sure she was pushing seventy.

They entered and stood in front of her, still and expressionless.

She sighed suddenly and sat down.

"I take it you've heard about the attacks," she started, all business.

They nodded.

She frowned. "I'm sorry to make you do this but it's imperative that you stop them."

"What do we have to do?" Sasuke asked.

"There's been a pattern in the attacks. At first, we thought they'd been going after police because of some vendetta against the force but it turns out they were just experimenting with that.

They're now going after civilians. Three from the same street. All upper class, but no nobles amoung them.

A man was attacked last night coming from seeing his paramour-"

The three hid chuckles as Tsunade seemed to have chosen that word carefully.

"- along Greene Avenue. He seemed to have been ridiculously unconcerned about the curfew but given the girl's family, it's understandable that he would not be welcome to spend the night."

There, Tsunade shot Naruto a glance that he countered blankly.

"You know of her, Naruto. Her family had actually been to see me, asking if I would allow you to begin the courting process."

Naruto paled. "You're kidding."

Tsunade shook her head, hiding a small smile.

Tsunade was Naruto's last living relative, his father's aunt. She was strict, violent and prone to gambling but when it came to him, she added unbelievably protective to that list.

And presently, her smug smile showed that someone she didn't like had either died or been dealt death's equivalent.

Tsunade failed to keep the smirk from her face as she continued. "A certain Shion Pris, a harlot from that street had let him out after a bout of rambunctious activity and had seen him get his ass handed to him the moment he got to the street. She started screaming for help and well…when it finally arrived, evidence of their activities was brought to light."

Tsunade sighed dramatically. "As your courtship representative, I must say I am thoroughly disappointed in her and am pleased she has been stripped from her social standing and sent to a nunnery. As your grandmother, I am happy to say the bitch got what she deserved and good riddance. You really dodged a bullet there."

Naruto stared, wide-eyed at Tsunade, holding back his laughter.

Sasuke and Gaara were both sporting smirks though Naruto could see they weren't exactly amused at his expense.

It was probably just the fact that Kyuubi had been right.

Naruto knew that if he hadn't had his feelings for Shion removed by Sasuke, he'd probably still be a wreck. Tsunade had never liked Shion and even if it meant breaking her grandson's heart, she'd have gladly had the girl assassinated because she thought it would be the best thing for Naruto. She was protective like that.

But now that Naruto didn't care, Tsunade seemed doubly pleased and vindictive about the whole thing.

"I'll have the Konoha Times publish a piece on fidelity, morals and Shion's lack of both by morning."

Sasuke cleared his throat and Tsunade coughed, her eyes losing the pleased sheen of vengeance as she got back to business.

"Yes well, as I was saying, the pattern has been established and the most likely to be attacked next is the family of one Fuuka Seito. All the families have a teenage daughter and are in a class close to Nobility. I suggest you hide out there and stop the attack. Also," she added thoughtfully. "Catch the attackers if possible but do not engage them unless directly attacked. I would rather you run away like little girls actually."

"Why?"  
Tsunade scowled at Gaara.

"They can sever the bonds we have to our souls and kill us. They leave behind a broken half of a soul that inevitably, will go mad searching for its master. I would rather have you all alive and in one piece."  
"In our condition?" Gaara asked.

Tsunade smirked. "I'm sure your puberty can be overcome while you're in a life-threatening situation." She turned to Naruto. "I do hope you won't try to rape the attackers though."  
"Ha-bloody-ha."

Tsunade just waved her hand, dismissing them.

"Remember boys," she said as they reached the door. "Not a sword of this to anyone."

They didn't need reminding. They never did.

**(I am an amazing page break. Bow before my awesomeness)**

"Aren't you guys done?" Hinata asked, pacing impatiently. "Seriously, I'm a girl and I was done an hour ago!"

Gaara was lounging on the bed with a book in hand while Kiba passed the time by glaring at him.

Naruto and Sasuke could be heard arguing in the bathroom about mirror space.

Finally, Naruto emerged from the bathroom, looking amazing and knowing it. He winked at Hinata and she blushed, clearing her throat and frowning. "What took you so long?"

Naruto gave her a sharp glance. "Are you serious? Looking this sexy takes _hours_ of preparation and yet, I managed it in only one."

Hinata rolled her eyes as Sasuke appeared behind Naruto, shoving him out of the way.

"Oi!"

"You were in the way."

Hinata sighed and led the way out, with Kiba scrambling after her and the other three boys trailing behind.

"I feel like I'm going to be murdered soon," Hinata whispered uneasily as she noticed all the evil stares she was getting from girls as they walked into town.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, looking about them as if ready to strike any attackers. Naruto gave him a funny look and he shrugged.

"All the girls keep glaring at me," Hinata whispered, edging closer to Naruto.

"How can they not?" Naruto asked, incredulous. "You're hot."

Hinata blushed and looked away.

Kiba frowned and Sasuke gagged. Gaara smirked and went to pay for their tickets.

When he came back, he ordered Naruto to go get the snacks with Hinata.

In the theatre, as Hinata tried to find her seat, a guy ran past her, slamming her into the wall as he rushed out.

Sasuke calmly held Naruto back before he could go kill the guy while Kiba checked to make sure Hinata was alright.

She smiled, "Yeah, I'm okay."

He touched her wrist and she winced, pulling it away.

"I'll take care of it later."  
"You sure?" Sasuke asked, still holding onto an irate Naruto.

She nodded, Hinata shrugged. "Sometimes me and Sakura help out nurse Shizune in the infirmary. We're usually there till late at night so I'll have time to look at it later."

After more assurance, they took their seats and watched the movie- Avatar- which they gave varying reviews after.

"It was _retarded_!" Naruto insisted. "I'm not gonna fall in love with some alien chick just because I'm in an alien body. That just doesn't happen!"

"I don't think that was the point the director was trying to put across," Sasuke said, as they walked out, headed for a restaurant for dinner.

"I think it was romantic," Hinata said pleasantly. "People from different worlds coming together and falling in love."

Kiba snorted. "No way! Let's say you get me into the body of a… cockroach for some reason or other. I'm not going to go nuts over the first roach girl to come my way and go '_hey roachie-mama, let's save the world'_."

Gaara chuckled. "I think you would."  
"I have standards."

"You do?"

"Screw you."

"_I'm_ your standard?"

Kiba growled as Hinata laughed, patting his back soothingly.

It was almost nine at night and they'd all be expected back at the academy by ten.

They ordered their dinner and the waiter put their plates in the wrong places.

Kiba took a bite from Hinata's plate- which was what _he'd_ ordered as she reached across the table for a slice of Naruto's pizza- which was supposedly hers. Sasuke and Gaara simply switched plates of rice with chicken masala and spaghetti bolognaise while everyone else seemed perfectly at ease, eating from each other's plates.

Sasuke ordered a bottle of grape juice and when they all had glasses, he raised it.

"I'd like to propose a toast to Naruto…who got an A in math."

Naruto sputtered and glared at the Uchiha, making murder gestures with a blunt butter knife.

The others toasted.

Hinata laughed. "I knew I was an awesome tutor."

Naruto snorted. "Not as awesome as me."

"You said you were going on _dates_ with her," Sasuke accused even as Hinata blushed.

"Study dates?" Naruto tried innocently.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, I lied," Naruto replied calmly, like Sasuke should have known better. "I was helping her with her history assignments and she'd help me with math."

"Hn. Knew you weren't getting any."

"Sasuke!" Hinata shouted, embarrassed.

He just smirked. "Sorry Hinata."

She muttered stuff under her breath and ducked her head.

Sasuke was about to ask her what she was saying when his phone rang.

He looked at it and sighed, standing.

"Sorry Hinata, Kiba… We gotta go."

"We?"

Naruto and Gaara stood.

"Yeah," Naruto winked. "Playing robin hood again tonight."  
Hinata rolled her eyes but waved them off. "See you at school then."

They nodded and walked away, leaving Hinata with a suddenly quiet Kiba.

**(I am a fishy page break. I can swim)**

Naruto was impatient. He _hated_ waiting.

Why couldn't the attackers just do what they were there for and _attack_.

Gaara and Sasuke were in front of him, keeping to the shadows as they watched the street below them. Their demons were watching from the building across, ready to offer help if it was needed.

Suddenly, there was movement.

An old man from the Seito family was walking home, obviously drunk.

Naruto snorted quietly. Maybe the fools wouldn't get attacked so much if they just followed curfew laws and stayed _inside_. But no, the old drunk apparently didn't think a little thing like death should stop him from having a good time.

Naruto wondered if he should just let the man get killed. Maybe he could transcend death and enjoy a beer in his version of the afterlife.

They could hear more movement and they all crept lower, hoping to take the assailant by surprise.

Two hooded figures moved out from the darkness and blocked the man's path.

"Good evening Mister Seito," one bowed. It was a man's voice, low and polite.

Seito bowed back clumsily and whispered loudly. "You shouldn't be out here. It's dangerous."

The figures nodded and moved toward him.

"We will escort you home then."

Sasuke huffed impatiently. Just another pair of people who were out when they shouldn't be.

"B-but," Seito stuttered. "I don't know who you are."  
Sasuke and Gaara stiffened while Naruto buzzed with excitement.

Sasuke didn't have to turn to know that Naruto's eyes had changed colour and were now a bright red. He didn't have to turn to know the bloodlust he'd see there or the killing intent. He could feel it from where he was.

And he was drawn to it.

The people grabbed Seito and started to pull him into an alley.

Gaara turned to Naruto. "Go."

Naruto nodded and leaped off the building, landing gracefully in front of the three people. The hooded figures both let go of Seito while one stepped toward Naruto.

"This isn't your concern. Go home."

Naruto snorted, claws forming from his fingers as he rushed forward.

He was fast and the man ducked in time, avoiding a blow to the head that would have probably knocked him unconscious.

He backed away and Naruto moved forward, grabbing his arm and throwing him against the wall. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke land next to the other person and pull out a sword which was quickly countered with another one as the other figure also seemed to have one on hand.

Seito was cowering by Gaara, who was watching the scene intently but not interfering.

Naruto saw a glint of silver as his opponent tried to grab a dagger from his belt and he snatched at his hand, grabbing his wrist and twisting till he let go.

The man growled and charged at Naruto who easily moved out of the way just in time to see a third hooded person enter the alley and underhandedly throw a pair of daggers at Sasuke's back.

Naruto moved without thinking, kicking his opponent away and vanishing, appearing behind Sasuke in time for the knives to dig into his back.

He fell forward and heard three sets of feet land on the concrete next to him. Their demons, he assumed. He could smell them.

The attackers whispered frantically and the next moment, they were gone.

Sasuke turned, swearing when he saw Naruto. He fell to his knees and held Naruto closer to him, tearing at his shirt to expose the wounds. Naruto winced at the movement, wondering why his whole body was so tired.

Kyuubi went mad at the sight of Naruto's blood, trying to grab his master from Sasuke even though he too was in pain.

Shukaku moved swiftly, knocking Kyuubi unconscious as he was practically useless in a panicked, raging state.

Manda bent down next to Sasuke and swiftly removed the daggers, handing them to Gaara who pulled out a handkerchief and took them.

Gaara moved closer, Seito still by his side but now, whimpering almost quietly. The redhead then turned around, eyes darting in every direction as he pulled out two rapiers from the holsters by his side and held one in each hand. Anyone even thinking about coming to hurt them would die swiftly and without knowledge that they were in fact, dead.

Naruto's speed in hand-to-hand combat was matched only by Sasuke's speed with his sword-kutsaragi- and Gaara's with his rapiers, which he used to thrust into any object with a pulse and pull out of the then dead object. He never needed to strike twice.

Manda reached into a pouch and pulled out a bottle of gin, giving it to Naruto, who smiled gratefully and took a huge gulp before coughing violently.

"The daggers were poisoned," Manda said quietly, glad his master seemed so calm even though he could feel the war of emotions in him. "I'll have to extract the poison quickly."

Sasuke nodded and tightened his grip on Naruto even as Manda pulled out a small case and opened it to reveal a dozen needles.

Sasuke winced as Naruto took another gulp and Manda stuck the needles in his back.

Blood flowed in fast trickles as the needles were pushed in and Naruto flinched, gritting his teeth so he wouldn't move so much. He was feeling lightheaded from both the poison and the alcohol.

"Why did you jump in front of them?" Sasuke hissed angrily, sounding a lot like Manda.

Naruto chuckled lightly. "Because I could?

I'm fast. I got there in time didn't I?"

"You're a fool."

"I saved your life."

"Why?"

Naruto's head hurt and the blood was flowing freely from his wounds. He shook his head.

"I'm not sure," his words were slightly slurred. "I guess I just don't want you to die."

"Hn."

The snake pulled out the needles and pressed his hands to the wounds. They glowed an eerie red as he healed the flesh torn there.

Naruto hated when Manda healed him. His hands were always so cold. Would it kill him to wear gloves so he could be warm when Naruto inevitably got hurt?

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke shushed him, motioning to Manda to continue his aid. "Don't shush me woman!" Naruto hissed and Sasuke scowled, briefly entertaining the thought of letting the moron die as revenge for calling him a woman.

"You and Gaara…" Naruto continued, unperturbed by Sasuke's brief killing intent. "I don't hate you guys."

Gaara glanced briefly at Naruto before turning back to stand guard, his grip on his rapiers even tighter than before.

"Well, actually, I do...a little. You're both sadistic turds but I don't really _hate_ you, y'know? You two are actually…"

"Shut up, would you?" Sasuke stated irritably. "We're trying to heal you."

Naruto huffed. "Asshole."

Sasuke was pleased to note that the blond was planning to be silent and cooperate so they could-

"You two are my best friends."

Sasuke almost let go of him. Steadying himself and noting the way Gaara's back stiffened, it was safe to say that that was by far the most awkward moment they had ever had as a team.

"Er…" he replied after a few minutes.

Manda was smirking but still healing Naruto and Kyuubi was still unconscious in Shukaku's arms. Shukaku was also sporting a similar smirk and Sasuke wondered if Gaara would be helpful and smack them both seeing as how his hands were full.

"I know you hate me," Naruto sighed loudly. "But that's okay…I hate me, too."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that. The boy had obviously lost a lot of blood.

"When I die, you'll both be free," Naruto smiled softly, as if the thought of their freedom at his death was truly the greatest thing in his stupid, blond head. "You should let me die here."

"Idiot," Sasuke hissed, gripping Naruto tighter than he should have. "We're saving your sorry ass so you should at least be grateful."

Naruto pouted and it looked silly with his eyes closed.

Gaara chuckled from where he stood and cleared his throat. "Naruto, we don't hate you… as much as we should."

Sasuke would have yelled at the redhead for daring to speak for him except that it was true. He didn't hate Naruto, much. Okay, so not really. But even begrudging friendships had to develop from situations like theirs. And the very fact that Gaara had bothered to reassure the delirious fool proved that they were at least friends.

Naruto smiled softly, as if aware of that fact. "I love you guys, no homo."

Sasuke chuckled and heard Gaara choke back a laugh.

"Almost done," Manda announced and Sasuke could see the wound healing faster.

"This is the best blackmail material ever," Shukaku stated.

"The injured cannot be held accountable for what they say," Manda stated reproachfully.

Sasuke smirked at his soul. "Doesn't mean we can't laugh about it."

"Privately," Gaara agreed. "We'll laugh at him _privately_ so he doesn't feel stupid."

"Aw, that's no fun," Shukaku protested.

"You are all despicable human beings," Manda sniffed imperiously.

"I don't care," Shukaku snorted. "I'm not even human."

They managed to get back to the school without incident and took Naruto to the nurse's office. Sakura was bandaging Hinata's wrist and they looked up at the commotion. Both Sakura and Hinata rushed to them, asking what happened.

"We were ambushed," Sasuke explained briefly.

Sakura's eyes widened and she quickly sent her demon puma, Reiki, to go get the nurse.

Shizune rushed in after Reiki and glanced at Naruto immediately, moving forward to check his vitals after seeing that his wound had been properly healed by Manda.

Duran was fast asleep on one of the cots, in his wolf form.

"Tired?" Shukaku asked, looking at Duran after dumping Kyuubi in one of the cots and letting Hinata check him.

Hinata snorted, "Lazy. He was out training with Shikamaru's demon so I really doubt that he overexerted himself."

"What happened to your hand?" Sasuke asked, seeing her bandaged wrist.

Hinata shrugged. "That guy from the movies. It hurt so I asked Shizune to look at it. She said it's sprained."

Sasuke nodded, telling himself he should have just let Naruto kill the guy.

For some reason though, the thought of Naruto protecting Hinata made him feel something he hadn't in a long time. Jealousy.

Shifting uncomfortably, he stared at Hinata as she helped Shizune check Naruto.

Was it possible that he liked _Hinata_?

He frowned slightly. That would be a betrayal to Naruto and given their new status of friendship, he couldn't do that.

Whatever he was feeling for Hinata, he'd have to remove.

Settling in a chair nearby, he swiftly searched his own mind and removed the green shards of jealousy that were embedded there.

"You healed him?" Shizune asked, failing to keep the astonished tone from creeping into her voice. The animosity between the three was well known. Everyone thought that if ever one of them got injured in battle, the others would just take their time and watch them die.

Well, a short while ago, they probably would have.

Gaara nodded and Shizune smiled lightly. "Well, you did a great job. He's perfectly fine. Kyuubi however, is drunk off his mind -even though Naruto was the one who'd been drinking- and will need to sleep it off. They should both rest here for the night and I'll make sure they're properly taken care of."

Naruto pouted. "I don't want to stay here."  
Shizune shot him an amused look. "Too bad."

"Can the others stay too?"

Gaara snorted. "Why would we stay?"  
Naruto sighed and Gaara huffed, relenting.

Shizune chuckled as she walked away. "Alright. I'll let you stay the night but no noise or I'll give you all rabies shots."

They nodded and Gaara and Shukaku immediately took a pair of spare beds across Naruto and Kyuubi's and promptly fell asleep.

Hinata shook her head at them and woke Duran.

"Time to go."

Duran nodded sleepily and leapt off the bed before yelping. Hinata winced and grabbed her wrist.

Duran had the good grace to look sheepish before limping after her. Sasuke briefly wondered why Duran preferred his animal form but didn't question it. It was none of his business anyway.

Kyuubi had blacked out on his bed and Manda had left, having escaped to sleep in the comfort of his own bed.

Sakura turned down the lights and smiled. "Good night guys."

Sasuke nodded at her and Naruto waved.

She shut the door behind her, leaving Naruto and Sasuke in darkness. Sasuke sighed, getting up.

"Are you leaving?"  
The Uchiha looked over at Naruto, able to make out his form by the moonlight streaming in from the windows.

"No," he answered.

He thought he heard Naruto sigh as the blond settled into his bed.

After a moment's thought, Sasuke moved to get into the bed beside Naruto's. He was halted by a warm hand grabbing his. Even in the darkness, he could see the soft blush on the blond's face.

"Thank you, for everything."

Sasuke nodded, his blood warming and he gently squeezed Naruto's hand, "Idiot."

Naruto chuckled softly but didn't let go of Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke sighed and got into the blankets with one hand, facing Naruto and their hands that were still joined.

"Sasuke…?" Naruto whispered.

"Hm?"  
"I'm glad you're okay."

Sasuke scowled at him. "If you ever get hurt for me again, I will kill you myself."

"Gaara won't let you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Sasuke?"

"Go to sleep, dammit."

"I don't hate you."

"I know."

"And I'm glad you don't hate me."

"Please shut up."

"And…I think I actually like you," Naruto yawned.

Sasuke tensed. "_Sleep_."

"You and Gaara are my best friends."  
Sasuke would have laughed if he hadn't felt Naruto's hand slip from his as the blond finally fell asleep.

Best friends?

When he thought about it, it almost made sense in a weird, twisted, sadistic sort of way. They'd always been together.

They'd been in the same team, wishing cruel, gruesome deaths on each other for as long as he could remember and now they were best friends? Well…

_It's about time._

x-x

**A/N: hello all. Before I am pelted with an assortment of weapons and objects, may I just say that I was…uh…busy? Hehe, anyway, I have this whole story written down, **_**properly**_** now in my notebook and will update weekly now that I'm on vacation for a month (uni's out till July! Yes!)**

**x-x**

**Review Reply**

**Grim D. Lux: **I love that book and the movies! Northern Lights was a whole other kind of special. Very creative. Thank you, my page breaks love you too XD

**Piratepenguin666: **Ah yes, nachos…I'm glad you like it. I hope this chapter was alright and that you enjoyed it too. Hehe *runs hand through hair* awkward parts…? Sorry about the OOC Hinata, I can never write her in character, I just fail at that I guess. But then, her stuttering kills me and I'm pretty sure she's strong and awesome underneath the Naruto obsession.

**Yo: **Thanks :) Will do

**Lazy Gaga: **Yay! I love reviews! Keep it up, lol. Thanks so much.

**Jukori: **Thanks, sorry I took so long… Try the buttons again. I swear they work.

**Soxmix: **No, no…I edited it and changed most of what I figured I didn't like. Sorry if I confused you or something but I'm glad you like the changes (at least, I _hope _you like the changes) I will continue regularly (now, hehe) Destined's next chapter was out sometime after you reviewed this though so I can say I did that but I'm still writing the next chapter of Destined write now so…no worries there. My magical calendar is now declared OPEN! Except for y'know, when I close it :P

**KhairulJBlack: **Hey stranger. I hope this fic is going alright and that you don't mind the changes. It _is_ for you after all, so lemme know. Lol, you're welcome. Sorry I took ages though but I'm writing the other chapters too so I should be done pretty soon, under ten chapters or so. Oi! I'm not dead!

**TheNaruFreak: **Thanks, haha, figures you're a pervert at heart ;)

**Sasalia32: **It's supposed to *grins* it was inspired by the golden compass….

**Lunarious1000: **yeah, someone (we definitely won't say who) tends to put way too much on her plate… Maybe I should go on a fanfic diet…

**Unknown: **Thanks…

**Ilvecoffee-n-narutoYOUTH: **yeah…definitely high… *runs away*

**Emerald Gaze: **Foolproof huh? Nah, I think there are some fools I didn't account for, lol. Sorry about Manda's colour, I just er… *has no excuse* I'll change it. *pouts* I shall write more so I can read more reviews! YEAH!

**Rozzihearts: **Yay, thanks

**Taylor: ***bows* thankyou. I will.

**BookHippie: **Say more *pouts* lol

**ShutUpAndScream: **It _is_ based on His Dark Materials! Confusing? Where? Where?

**Chibi-Daisuke-Chan: **Cookies! Hehe, kept you waiting long huh?

**iHasWritersBlock: **Thanks so much, I do hope so… Thanks again XD

**Unsigned anonymous person type thing: **I'm sorry you feel that way. If you could explain more as to _why_ you're sad I wrote it, then I'd maybe understand what I can do to make it right?

**Vitan: **I removed the steamy scene! In your face! Bwahahahahahahaaaa! *gets smacked* okay, am sowi :3 The Four Seasons is in my notebook if you want it *evil laugh activate*

**Ugottalongway2go: **Dammit! Why am I confusing you! Am sorry! *goes to jump off cliff*

**JellyfishZombie: **Yeah, Golden compass. So many titles.Eew, babies? Don't those things just eat, poop and sleep *sighs* I wish _I_ was a baby…

**Dragon77: **Sorry I took so long. Forgive me. Thanks though, I hope it _still _seems promising.

**x-x**

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